Fate/Apocrypha Episode 4: That's not Lancer

Published on July 25, 2017

Well, this episode certainly escalated quickly. Honestly, I felt like I had a lot more complaints in this episode than I normally have. Let's start with the good stuff. This episode showcased a lot of new Servants, and they're pretty much all cool. Sure, there are three characters from Greek mythology, but I've always had a soft spot for Greek mythology. Plus, Chiron is an Archer opposing Achilles, who was killed by a magic arrow.

In the Red faction, we also have a bit of a reversed situation going on. In normal Fate stories, the Servants work to keep their identities hidden, even to the point of keeping them from their masters. In this series, it's the reverse. I'm not sure if this is supposed to be a significant difference or if it's just another indication that the Red faction is a bunch of random mages, but it's intriguing.

I'm really not convinced about the homunculus. Everything about him seems so arbitrary, and I feel like there are only so many places you can take a character like that. He starts out as a throwaway doll to be used for an experiment, so I'm assuming he's going to find some self-importance in his life.

I guess I'm surprised that Siegfried died so quickly, since I thought the backstory he was given last week was an introduction, not a death flag. Still, I guess it makes sense now. The homunculus probably inherited his power, which would explain why Mordred calls "Siegfried" a fake in the opening battle of the series.

I actually thought that I would be making the early death comment about Spartacus, since he was getting ripped apart. But he seemed fine with the pain, and it looked like he was just captured. Maybe he was the distraction to hide Siegfried's impending fate.

Did Gordes really use a Command Spell just because Siegfried refused to use his Noble Phantasm? It didn't look like the situation was particularly dire yet. I get that this guy has a lot of pride, but that's infinite levels of stupid. Also, why did it consume two Command Spells when it failed?